


An Unexpected Friendship

by riddleme_this



Series: A Series of Unexpected Events [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Fluff, How Do I Tag, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Kid Fic, M/M, POV Harry Potter, Tom Riddle is Not Voldemort, Tom is in Harry's era, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-06
Updated: 2020-12-06
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:08:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27911260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/riddleme_this/pseuds/riddleme_this
Summary: Harry is all ready to go to Hogwarts but nothing is going his way. Well, at least he managed to make a friend who is really the coolest person ever.
Relationships: Harry Potter & Tom Riddle, Harry Potter/Tom Riddle
Series: A Series of Unexpected Events [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2043814
Comments: 8
Kudos: 204





	An Unexpected Friendship

**Author's Note:**

> Hii!! Thanks for reading this. This is my first fanfic ever so let me know how it is. Hope you enjoy!!

The day had finally come. Harry was more excited for this day than he had been for any other day in his life. Finally, he was going to go to Hogwarts! Ever since the letter arrived on his eleventh birthday, Harry knew that he just had to get to Hogwarts as soon as he could. A school of magic, where he could meet new friends and have adventures like his Papa, Padfoot and Moony; it was going to be simply wonderful.

“Mom, dad! Hurry up! I don’t want to miss Hogwarts Express,” Harry yelled from outside the house, impatience burning through his veins. He couldn’t understand why his parents were not hurrying out of the house. If he missed the train, Harry was going to be very upset. No, he was going to be more than upset, he would be furious.

“Coming!” His Papa James yelled back, before going back to console Padfoot. Seriously, his family was acting like he was going away forever. Harry kept tapping his knuckles against his suitcase, bobbing his head to a beat in his head as he dreamt of all the adventures he would have in Hogwarts, until finally, his family was ready to send him off.

“We are going to reach there one hour early, Har-bear,” Mama Lily said, and Harry grinned. Reaching early would be great. Then the train would leave faster, and he could reach Hogwarts before time. It would be perfect.

As they apparated to King’s Cross Station, Harry forced himself out of his daydreams about the rest of the year. He was going to miss his family; his Papa James and Mama Lily, who always made him cookies and milk when he had a nightmare, his Padfoot and Moony, who taught him Quidditch tricks and the coolest pranks. He was even going to miss little Jerome, his old cat who was always content with snuggling up with him on the couch whenever he was mildly upset.

Squeezing his Mama’s hand once they reached platform Nine and Three-Quarters, he sniffled silently. Hogwarts was going to be fun, and Harry couldn’t wait to start this journey on his own, but the comfort of his home was something he wished he wouldn’t have to leave.

Moony interrupted his thoughts. “We are going to miss you too, little one, but remember: if you ever need us, we are only a letter away. When I went to Hogwarts, I managed to find friends that accepted me for who I was. I want you to find those friends for yourself. That way, even when you miss us, you will still have a part of your family around you,” he advised.

Harry nodded gratefully, hiding the wetness behind his eyes as he gave a big hug to each of his family members. The station buzzed with other first years bidding their parents goodbye. It seemed like most of the crowd decided to come early to board Hogwarts Express. Harry couldn’t help but gulp in fear as he glanced at the massive train in front for him. It was time for an adventure of a lifetime.

With a last look back at his family, he waved to them as he boarded the train. He settled down with a sigh as soon as he found an empty compartment. He really should have just popped into another compartment and asked if there was any space for him instead of simply sitting alone. Well, it didn’t matter. Now, he just had to wait for someone to arrive and become his best friend. Yes, that sounded like a plan.

After half an hour though, it got boring sitting in alone with no one for company. As soon as Harry made up his mind to get out and talk to at least someone, the door to his compartment opened.

A boy just his age, with the coldest glare he had ever seen, scowled at him, and asked, “Can I sit here?”

Slightly taken aback by the boy’s behavior, Harry felt confused, which was immediately overshadowed by relief. His first new friend! This was the moment he had been waiting for for so long.

“Of course, definitely!” he said excitedly. “You can sit here. What’s your name? My name is Harry. Harry Potter. Are you a first year? I am a first year and I’m really excited to see Hogwarts. I have been waiting for so long and finally, today we’ll get to go there and be sorted into house and—”

“My name is Tom Riddle,” Tom replied sharply, cutting through Harry’s rambling. “And yes, I am a first year.”

Harry smiled at Tom, ignoring his rudeness. “Well, that’s great then. I can already tell that we are going to be the best of friends.”  
\------  
As the Sorting Hat was placed on Harry’s head, he tried his best to muster a composed smile, like Tom did earlier. Tom was so cool and collected, and Harry wanted to be just like him instead of the hilarious, rambling mess that he always was.

With every passing second, Harry got more worried. Why wasn’t the hat sorting him into a house? His Papa James said that he was going to get into Gryffindor because of how brave he was, his Mama Lily said he might get into Ravenclaw with his love for knowledge, but secretly, Harry wanted to get into Slytherin.

Tom got into Slytherin and Harry knew that it would be amazing to be in the same House as Tom. Not only that, but he also really didn’t mind having a house symbol of a snake. After all, when one looked past the poisonous part of snakes, they were quite cute pets to have.

With his mind set on Slytherin, he impatiently awaited the Sorting Hat to announce his house. A smile sat on his lips until he heard the words, “Hufflepuff!”

Immediately, the world turned grey and passed by him in a rush. He dazedly made his way to the Hufflepuff table, getting a few good-natured slaps on the back from his fellow housemates and grins all around him. Still, the happy atmosphere at the table could do nothing to blanket the overwhelming disappointment he felt at not being a Slytherin, or even a Gryffindor. Even as Harry tucked his blanket over him, whispering goodnight to his dormmates, he couldn’t help but hope that this was all a dream. And, well, if it wasn’t, then tomorrow was going to be a new start to his adventure at Hogwarts. It didn’t matter what his house was, he was going to make sure that his dreams come true.

The next day, Harry woke up blurry eyed and remained so throughout breakfast and his first few classes. It was despicable how early he had to get up for classes and his schedule did not help counter his sleepiness. It was only during Potions with the Slytherins, when he heard the stern yet soft voice of Professor Snape, that his brain decided to snap out of a daze and focus.

“You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making,” he began. “I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death—if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach.”

For some odd reason, Harry listened to Professor Snape with rapt attention, as though he was going to learn the treasured secrets of the world within that very lesson. He didn’t even give enough attention to his surroundings to realize that most students were fighting to keep their eyes open and only one other person was listening as keenly as he was.

By the end of that lesson, Harry somehow felt better about his situation and his matchstick of hope had been rekindled. Being a Hufflepuff did not mean that he still could not read as much as he wanted, or he could not be brave enough to go on adventurous, or even that he could no longer be friends with Tom Riddle. In fact, he could do all that and more. Being a Hufflepuff meant that he had other qualities that he obviously never thought about before, but that should not stop him from pursuing his interests. With that thought in his head, he confidently walked out of class, the light in his eyes burning once more like a fire.

“Hello, Tom,” he said, dumping his books on the library table carelessly before looking up at his friend. It was quite surprising that Harry managed to find him in the school library so early into the term (only the second day, really) and he couldn’t help but admire that his friend was so focused.

Tom nodded in reply, his eyes shining with confusion, probably at why Harry was talking to him, which was quickly distracted by the words in his book again. Harry smiled at the attention Tom was paying to his studies, ignoring the fact that he did not receive the overexcited reply that he was hoping to have.

“So, what are you studying?” Harry asked curiously, hoping to find out more about his friend.  
“Muggle Studies,” Tom replied curtly, his voice signaling that he no longer wanted to be disturbed.  
Clearly, that gesture went over Harry’s head as he continued, “But we don’t have that subject until third year. Why are you studying that now?”

Tom bit the inside of his cheek to keep himself from bursting with anger at the naïve Hufflepuff. “Because it’s interesting,” he said instead.

Harry agreed with a thoughtful hum, as he finally dragged his chair and sat down opposite Tom. “That’s quite true. I definitely love reading about muggles. Especially the novels that they publish. They can be really fascinating too. Why, when Papa James took me to Muggle London—” he began, launching into a widely exaggerated story about a cat, a muggle and a stapler.

At first, Tom was content about ignoring him, but as Harry continued to ramble on, he slowly packed his books away, becoming more and more fascinated with the story, and surprisingly, with the storyteller too. It was no surprise that when Madam Pince kicked them out of the library and Harry kept complaining the whole way out, instead of being irritated about the whiny brat, Tom could reluctantly feel his lips pull up with a smile and his cold grey eyes soften with fondness.


End file.
